Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Furious with grandparents over bird poo

80 replies

BirdPooToddler · 01/08/2020 23:45

My parents took my DD (3) out for the day. When they came back my DD had dried bird poo in some of her hair and a splodge on her dress. My DP said they hadn’t noticed. I was annoyed at this to begin with but now she’s been in bed for a few hours and I’ve spent time googling how dangerous breathing in dried bird poo can be I’m really upset and worried. Will DD potentially get really unwell? Should I mention to my parents again that they really should have noticed and not noticing was negligent? Or am I overreacting.

OP posts:
michelle1504 · 02/08/2020 00:36

Sorry but you are really really over reacting. I mean this kindly, but do you perhaps suffer with anxiety a little?

She will be absolutely fine OP. Please try not to worry.

Original poster
BirdPooToddler · 02/08/2020 00:46

I know I am overreacting. Thanks for the posts who’ve put that kindly. Tbf this page makes the illness I’m worried about seem terrifying.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psittacosis

OP posts:
saraclara · 02/08/2020 00:50

OP, everyone gets bird poo on them. And reasonably often. And sometimes we don't notice until later.
Has anyone you know ever had psittacosis? I'm on my 60s and have never heard of anyone who's had it. Your child won't have it either.

Chill. Please.

TheVamoosh · 02/08/2020 00:56

Kids massively pick up on anxiety OP and your over protectiveness will cause far more damage than a bit of bird poo in her hair

Sorry, but that is not a very helpful thing to say to someone with anxiety. Mothers living with mental health issues already tend to feel pretty bad about the possible impact on their children.

Original poster
BirdPooToddler · 02/08/2020 01:01

@TheVamoosh thanks. My DD was born very early and very unwell. Since then I’ve been terrified of losing her. I am trying with counselling to put this right. The last thing I would want to do is hurt her. But when I googled and all these terrible symptoms/ risk of coma and death came up I completely freaked out. I recognise now that’s not reasonable or proportionate, and have apologised to my parents for being snappy with them.

OP posts:
immagicx · 02/08/2020 01:03

Try not to worry op, I'm sure most children hate ingested bird poo at some point as picnic benches and parks are sometimes covered.
I'v been pooed on so many times.
I think illness occurs where birds are kept in hoarders houses and never cleaned etc.

I had anxiety after DC1, I never got help though I wish I had so perhaps if you're struggling try to have a chat with someone.

Nikki360 · 02/08/2020 01:09

I am a worrier and I have anxiety so I completely understand your reaction and I would be exactly the same. Please try not to worry. She will be absolutely fine. Try to stay away from google or if you have to only use nhs pages to check things.

rainbowlou · 02/08/2020 01:13

Anxiety is awful, especially when it comes to your child Flowers
My ds has eaten bird poo, in fact he has eaten a lot worse!
Please step away from google and speak to your doctor, I had PND and speaking out quite possibly saved my sanity and allowed me to be a lot more relaxed around my baby x

Jacky209990 · 02/08/2020 01:15

I really would take anything on Wikipedia with a pitch of salt. Anyone can add to it with no medical knowledge. I personally wouldn't be too worried about her becoming ill from this. Honestly, don't think I would be too impressed though, if my dd came home with quite a lot of bird poo in her hair, if it was fairly visable and no one noticed.

Lonecatwithkitten · 02/08/2020 01:24

Even if the worst case scenario happened it is easily treated with a wide variety of antibiotics and symptoms improved within 48 hours of treatment.

ComeOnBabyPopMyBubble · 02/08/2020 01:25

You must try and not google absolutely every little thing, because no matter what it is, even water, you'll find someone who died from it or they have cancer.

Once you go that rabbit whole, your anxiety will make everything ten times worse.

Your DD will grow and get bumps and scrapes, have accidents, eat something off the floor, lick something icky, eat her own snot and so on. You will have to find a way to not only learn to cope with it, but determine when further advice or intervention is needed.

WhenCoronaWasALager · 02/08/2020 01:36

OP. Flowers. I'm sure she'll be fine.

vodkaredbullgirl · 02/08/2020 01:44

OTT its just bit of bird poop

nocoolnamesleft · 02/08/2020 01:53

Okay. So even in a ex micropremmie with chronic lung disease, I still wouldn't worry about any health issues from having got bird poo in their hair. I think that your past traumatic experiences with your child's health have made you over anxious. This is pretty common, to be honest, in the parents of NICU graduates. In most people it fades with time. I think the counselling sounds like it may well be helpful. Step away from google and try to get some sleep.

VinylDetective · 02/08/2020 02:06

It’s supposed to be lucky if a bird shits on you.

TinkersTailor · 02/08/2020 02:09

It's gross but realistically what did you expect them to do?

If they didn't notice, they didn't notice.
If they had noticed, would you've wanted them to cut their day short and bring her back so you could wash her hair?

The likelihood of her inhaling it to the point it would be harmful is negligible.

Can see why you're cross, but I do think YABU.

(As an aside, isn't being pooed on by a bird meant to bring good luck?)

mankyfinger · 02/08/2020 02:38

@BirdPooToddler
I really feel for you being so worried

Saying anything won't change what happened
Im sure she will be ok, we have dried bird poo on the grass in the garden and the children play on it all of the time.

I think saying anything to your in laws will be very unhelpful. They didn't mean for her to come back with poo in her hair. It's more that they didn't notice that which would upset me rather then it being poo if you see where I am coming from?

Try to soothe yourself to know the odds of her getting sick are extremely slim

Lots of love x x

Newjez · 02/08/2020 02:40

Maybe you should suggest your parents get their eyesight checked?

TehBewilderness · 02/08/2020 02:47

I don't imagine one or two droppings are of great concern though I would be watching and imagining symptoms every day until it was clear I was worrying for naught.

I would not trust them with a three year old again. How could you spend the day with a child and not notice bird poop in their hair? How?
What else did they not notice?

Womencanlift · 02/08/2020 02:58

They probably did notice but didn’t think much of it at the time (like most of us on this thread)

Without being with you when they came back I don’t know how it went but did you notice before they could say anything and get angsty with them? If so that’s probably why they said they didn’t notice, likely they thought that would be the best response to avoid starting an argument

eaglejulesk · 02/08/2020 03:56

I would not trust them with a three year old again. How could you spend the day with a child and not notice bird poop in their hair? How? What else did they not notice?

For goodness sake - presumably these people raised the OP and she's still okay.

OP please step away from Google, this is such a minor thing and not worth even checking up on. You really do need to try and overcome this constant anxiety over your daughter, for her sake and yours.

mathanxiety · 02/08/2020 04:45

Maybe a little sun hat for your DD next time she is out?

Marchitectmummy · 02/08/2020 04:46

Mistakes happen, I'm sure your parents wouldn't have left her with bird poo intentionally.

The disease upu are referring to is resultant from exposure to large volumes of dried bird poo. Think a derelict building rather than a one off

Gobbycop · 02/08/2020 04:48

I think what they mean by dried bird shit being harmful is if a huge amount of it is needed cleaned up.

Not a bit in a child's hair.

lottiegarbanzo · 02/08/2020 05:10

Breathing in bird poo? Like by working in a chicken shed or a guano processing plant, without a face mask? Your 3yo should definitely not do that.

Google anything and it can't take more than three steps to get to morbid then mortal risk and fear. Did she cross, or even touch a road today? A car? An animal? Some food? And so on and so on.

It's a bit odd they didn't notice and rather yucky. You washed it off. All done.